How better my system will be with a 8800 GT? HELP NEEDED.. PLZ

apim

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Aug 26, 2008
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Hi

I want to know how much performance improvements may be there if I upgrade my current system (a 2006 assembled) with a 8800GT graphics card. Here is my current configuration

Motherboard: Intel Original D945GNT
CPU: Pentium 4 3.2 GHz (EMT 64Bit technology)
Memory: Kingston DDR2 533MHz 1 GB (planning upgrading this one also)
Graphics Card: XFX 6800 XT 256 MB

This is an old rig now I understand, but right now I can only afford a new memory and an moderately powerful GPU. Please suggest me whether upgrading to a 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 RAM & ZOTAC 8800 GT 512 MB Graphics Card will be a good option or not..... or will this old processor become a bottleneck for 8800 GT.

I really need advice on how much suitable it will be to buying a 8800 GT for this system. Will this really make my system's gaming performance a Lot better?

Kindly please please help me on this upgrade plan.

Thanks in advance
 

ovaltineplease

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It /will/ provide a good performance increase paired with more RAM - theres no way it would perform worse really.

But there will be a gap, theres no denying it. But I don't think anyone can really tell you what the gap will be unless they used the same configuration.

If you check around some of tomshardware's archived articles, there was an article last spring on cpu vs gpu improvements - it might be able to give you an idea of what to expect.
 

lameness

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Im afraid that cpu will be a huge bottleneck to any new card. Certainly the 8800gt will only be able to give a small portion of its possible performance with that cpu. IMO i would get a cheaper, slower card...maybe 9600gt...8800gs or even the 3850, then spend the money you save upgrading your cpu. Even if you dont intend to upgrade your cpu, i would still go for a slower, cheaper card as its unlikely that you will be able to get any extra performance with a quicker card.
 
Yes, even with your P4 a 8800GT and 2Gb of RAM will game much better than a 6800.
It will defiantly be bottleneck bye your CPU but I think you will be happy with the upgrade.
When a GPU is bottleneck, you can turn up more eye candy with out sacrificing your frame rates, BTW.
 

apim

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Thanks all for your replies but... Alas my MB does not support Core2Duo processors...... so would it be a better option to go for 9600? I heard it is PCI Express 2.0 where I know my MB supports only PCI Express 1.0... Please suggest
 
If the 8800GT is not much more than the 9600GT, that is what I would get.
The extra power will not be wasted if you crank up the in game quality and AA/AF.
If the 9600GT is quite a bit cheaper, save the extra $$ for a new platform.
 

Nik_I

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a pentium 4 would cause a fairly large bottleneck with an 8800GT, but regardless of how much it will be bottlenecked, you just can't describe the performance difference between a 6800 and an 8800 :D
 

malveaux

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Heya,

The 8800gt will scream compared to that older card, even if your system is a bit aged. It will be fine.

The 9600gt is a budget card--avoid that piece of crap.

You can get an 8800gt from tigerdirect right now for $105 or $119 or something. Absolutely go for it.

Very best,